Hypercalcaemia and in vitro osteolysis associated with xenografts of squamous carcinomas of the tongue.

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Weakly Consistent Regularisation Methods for Ill-Posed Problems

This Chapter takes its origin in the lecture notes for a 9 h course at the Institut Henri Poincaré in September 2016. The course was divided in three parts. In the first part, which is not included herein, the aim was to first recall some basic aspects of stabilised finite element methods for convection-diffusion problems. We focus entirely on the second and third parts which were dedicated to ill-posed problems and their approximation using stabilised finite element methods. First we introduce the concept of conditional stability. Then we consider the elliptic Cauchy-problem and a data assimilation problem in a unified setting and show how stabilised finite element methods may be used to derive error estimates that are consistent with the stability properties of the problem and the approximation properties of the finite element space. Finally, we extend the result to a data assimilation problem subject to the heat equation

Preliminary results of pheromone identification in Zygaena loti, and the potential for pheromones in burnet moth conservation.

Zygaena loti scotica (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) is a threatened species endemic to Western Scotland. Its known distribution is currently limited to approximately 10km2 in Western Argyll, which are under careful management for the insect’s conservation as a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) priority species. In 2014, a small number of Z. loti were collected from Scotland and reared for pheromone identification. Headspace collection and gland extraction was carried out on two female moths, from which compounds were subsequently analysed by Gas Chromatogram Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). Potential pheromone compounds eliciting an antennal response in males were assessed by GC-linked Electro-Antennographic-Detection (GC/EAD). Analyses revealed one potential compound present in female glands and headspace samples. Candidate pheromone lures were produced and tested at various sites in Western Argyll in order to determine behavioural responses of male Z. loti to a synthetic blend containing the previously identified compound. In this presentation the study is discussed as well as the potential for pheromones as a tool for monitoring and studying rare zygaenids

A Superstabilizing log⁡(n)\log(n)-Approximation Algorithm for Dynamic Steiner Trees

In this paper we design and prove correct a fully dynamic distributed algorithm for maintaining an approximate Steiner tree that connects via a minimum-weight spanning tree a subset of nodes of a network (referred as Steiner members or Steiner group) . Steiner trees are good candidates to efficiently implement communication primitives such as publish/subscribe or multicast, essential building blocks for the new emergent networks (e.g. P2P, sensor or adhoc networks). The cost of the solution returned by our algorithm is at most $\log |S|$ times the cost of an optimal solution, where $S$ is the group of members. Our algorithm improves over existing solutions in several ways. First, it tolerates the dynamism of both the group members and the network. Next, our algorithm is self-stabilizing, that is, it copes with nodes memory corruption. Last but not least, our algorithm is \emph{superstabilizing}. That is, while converging to a correct configuration (i.e., a Steiner tree) after a modification of the network, it keeps offering the Steiner tree service during the stabilization time to all members that have not been affected by this modification

Children’s experiences of domestic violence and abuse: siblings’ accounts of relational coping

This article explores how young people see their relationships, particularly their sibling relationships, in families affected by domestic violence, and how relationality emerges in their accounts as a resource to build an agentic sense of self. The ‘voice’ of children is largely absent from domestic violence literature, which typically portrays them as passive, damaged and relationally incompetent. Children’s own understandings of their relational worlds are often overlooked, and consequently existing models of children’s social interactions give inadequate accounts of their meaning-making-in-context. Drawn from a larger study of children’s experiences of domestic violence and abuse, this paper uses two case studies of sibling relationships to explore young people’s use of relational resources, for coping with violence in the home. The paper explores how relationality and coping intertwine in young people’s accounts, and disrupts the taken for granted assumption that children’s ‘premature caring’ or ‘parentification’ is (only) pathological in children’s responses to domestic violence. This has implications for understanding young people’s experiences in the present, and supporting their capacity for relationship building in the future

Further observations on mechanisms of bone destruction by squamous carcinomas of the head and neck: the role of host stroma.

Mechanisms of bone invasion by squamous carcinomas of the head and neck have been investigated using fresh tumours and established tumour cell lines in an in vitro bone resorption assay with 45Ca-labelled mouse calvaria. Fresh tumours regularly resorb bone in vitro. Activity is consistently reduced by indomethacin. The tumours release E2 prostaglandins (PGE2) in amounts sufficient to account for approximately 50% of the bone resorption observed. Small amounts of non-prostaglandin (indomethacin-resistant) osteolytic factors are also produced. Control non-neoplastic tissues show a variable capacity to resorb bone in vitro; PGE2 levels in these tissues may be related to their content of inflammatory cells. Tumour cell lines also resorb bone in vitro but, for most lines, activity is not significantly blocked by indomethacin and PGE2 levels are generally insufficient to account for the osteolysis observed. Non-prostaglandin bone resorbing factors thus predominate. It is concluded that most squamous cancers of the head and neck are osteolytic in vitro and release a mixture of prostaglandin and non-prostaglandin factors which stimulate osteoclastic bone resorption. These factors are derived from both neoplastic and stromal elements, and are "tumour-associated" rather than "tumour-specific". In vitro bone resorption and prostaglandin release does not correlate with pathological features of the tumour or with post-operative survival

The importance of soil and vegetation characteristics for establishing ground nesting bee aggregations

Most bee species are ground-nesters, yet knowledge on the nesting behaviour of this diverse group remains sparse. Evidence on the effectiveness of ground-nesting bee species as crop pollinators is growing, but there is limited information on their nesting habits and preferences and how to manage habitats to enhance populations on farms. In this study, artificially prepared plots of bare soil were constructed with the aim to attract ground-nesting bees to nest in a commercial orchard in Kent, UK. Nine soil parameters were measured to determine their preferred soil properties: hydraulic conductivity, soil compaction, soil moisture, soil temperature, soil stoniness, soil organic matter, soil root biomass, soil texture and vegetation cover. Eighteen non-parasitic ground-nesting bee species (7 Andrena, 9 Lasioglossum, 1 Halictus and 1 Colletes spp.) were recorded in the study plots. Soil stoniness and soil temperature at 10cm depth were positively correlated, and vegetation cover and hydraulic conductivity were negatively correlated with the number of ground-nesting bees on the plots. We show that artificially created habitats can be exploited for nesting by several ground-nesting bee species. This study’s findings can inform management practices to enhance ground-nesting bee populations in agricultural and urban areas